Extended & Altered Chords: Expand

Your Vocabulary with Advanced

Chord Voicings | TAB
GP Editors
Oct 12, 2015
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Ever crack open an intermediate-to-advanced chord book only to be overwhelmed by
the multitude of ambitious voicings?

Sure, those chords have cool names, but what do they mean? Some sound great, others
not so much. And how the heck do you use them? What styles of music do they fit in,
and how do they work with progressions?

But don’t fear! In this lesson, we’ll expire the construction and applications of extended
and altered chords and clear up some of the confusion that surrounds these advanced
voicings.

EXTENDED CHORDS
An extended chord is simply a 7th chord (maj7, m7, dom7, etc.) with an added:

• 9th (an octave plus a 2nd)

• 11th (an octave plus a perfect 4th)
• 13th (an octave plus a major 6th)

or any combination thereof. Extended chords are generally used when a richer
harmonic “color” is desired. Since 9th chords are among the most popular extended
chords, let’s begin with them.

NINTH CHORDS
If you were to take a Cmaj7 chord (C-E-G-B) and add a D note to the voicing, you would
be creating a Cmaj9 (R[oot]-3–5-7-9; C-E-G-B-D). Some feel that the inclusion of the
9th adds a bittersweet quality to the simple beauty of a maj7 chord. You be the judge as
you play through the Cmaj9 voicings in FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 1

Notice that some of the voicings omit the 5th degree (G). This is a common and
acceptable procedure when dealing with extended chord voicings. Remember, all of
these voicing are movable, so practice them in a variety of keys.

FIGURE 2 offers a musical example that teams up two voicings of a Cmaj9 chord with
an Fmaj9 chord in an arpeggiated I-IV progression in the key of C. Repeating the first
two measures is a great exercise, both for memorizing the fingerings and for frethand
coordination.

FIGURE 2

Bear in mind, you don’t have to wait until you see a maj9 chord symbol on a chart to
play one. For example, a Cmaj9 chord can be used as a “substitution” for a Cmaj7 chord
in most situations. Cmaj9 can sometimes serve as a replacement for the closely related
Cadd9 (C-E-G-D) as well.

Take a C7 chord (C-E-G-Bb) and add the 9th degree (D) and you have a C9—or C
dominant 9th chord (R-3-5-b7-9; C-E-G-Bb-D). When learning new voicings, always try
to relate them to those that you already know, and it will eliminate the hard labor of
starting from scratch with every new voicing.

With that in mind, if you were to lower the 7th degree of a Cmaj9 chord by a half step,
you would create a C9 chord (and vice versa).
 For example, take a look at the C9 voicings in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 3

Upon close inspection, you’ll discover that they are the exact dominant counterparts to
the major voicings found in FIGURE 1. You’ll have to change your fret-hand fingering
for some, but otherwise the only difference lies in the 7th degrees (B for the Cmaj9, Bb
for the C9).

Particularly conspicuous in blues, jazz and funk, dominant 9th voicings are a popular,
colorful substitute for the often overworked dominant 7th chord. FIGURE 4 sets C9,
F9 and G9 voicings in motion over a funk I7-IV7-V7 progression. As in FIGURE 2, this
is a good one to loop as a two-measure jam for learning purposes.

FIGURE 4

A common misconception is that minor 9th chords contain a minor 9th (b9th)
extension. Not so! Like maj9 and dome9 chords, m9 chords contain a natural, or major
9th degree. For example, a Cm9 chord is spelled C-Eb-G-Bb-D (R-b3-5-b7-9) as
in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 5
 Equally at home in rock, blues, jazz, funk and pop, dark and moody minor 9th chords
are commonly used in place of minor 7th (R-b3-5-b7) and minor add9 (R-b3-5-9)
chords. Listen to the atmosphere they generate are you play through the example
in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 6

[BREAK]

ELEVENTH CHORDS
Eleventh chords are 7th or 9th chords with an added 11th degree. The most common
11th chords are minor 11ths (e.g., Cm11: C-Eb-G-Bb-D-F).

FIGURE 7 shows four Cm11 voicings.

FIGURE 7

You’ll notice that only the first voicing includes the 9th (D). This brings up an important
point regarding extensions. A chord gets its name from its highest extension, whether
or not the lower ones are included in the voicing. Useful for voice leading and chord
melody purposes, minor 11th chords are often used for the ii chord in major keys (Am11
 in the key of G. FIGURE 8), and the iv chord in minor keys (Fm11 in the key of C
minor).

FIGURE 8

FIGURE 9 shows four voicings of a C11 (C dominant 11th) chord. Dominant 11th
chords are particularly useful in V chord applications in major keys (C11 in the key of F;
Bb11 in the key of Eb, etc.).

FIGURE 9

Many guitarists dislike the minor 9th (inverted minor 2nd) “rub” of the 3rd against the
11th in dominant 11th chords and substitute dom9sus4 (R-4-5-b7-9) voicings in their
place (FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 10
 It is because of this same dissonance that major 11th chords are rarely if ever
encountered, so we’ll pass on them for the moment. When such a sound is desired, the
chords maj7add4 or maj9add4 are generally used.

[BREAK]

THIRTEENTH CHORDS
The 13th is the highest possible chord extension. While 13th chords can contain a 9th or
an 11th, those extensions aren’t necessary and are often dropped from guitar voicings.

For example, to convert a Cmaj7 into a Cmaj13 chord, you only need to add the 13th (A).
Although each of the Cmaj13 chords found in FIGURE 11 includes a 9th (D) in the
voicing, that 9th could be omitted without having to rename the chord. Again, due to
the dissonance factor, the 11th is routinely omitted from maj13th chords.

FIGURE 11

Add an A note to a C7 or C9 chord and you have a C13 voicing (FIGURE 12).

FIGURE 12

As with major 13th chords, the presence of a 9th isn’t required in a dominant 13th
voicing, and the 11th is routinely omitted.

Minor 13th chords (R-b3-5-b7-9-11-13) are the exception to the “omitted 11th rule.” For
instance, in a Cm13 chord, the 11th (F) is a relatively consonant major 9th (inverted
major 2nd) away from the b3rd (Eb), making it an acceptable extension for minor 13th
voicings (witness the first Cm13 voicing in FIGURE 13).

FIGURE 13

For an example of the luscious sound of 13th chords in action, check out the I-IV-ii-V-I,
C major progression in FIGURE 14.

FIGURE 14

[BREAK]

ALTERED CHORDS
Generally speaking, an altered chord is a chord with either a b5th, b9th, #9th or any
combination thereof. As with extended chords, altered chords can be grouped into three
categories: major, minor and dominant. Since the latter category is by far the most
common of the three, we’ll begin there.

ALTERED DOMINANT CHORDS

The voicing possibilities in the altered dominant chord department are so vast that they
can quickly boggle the mind. One way to guard against brain overload is to place them
into subcategories: those containing a single alteration, and those with two or more
alterations.
The voicings in FIGURE 15 represent the former category: dominant 7th chords with a
single alteration.

FIGURE 15

The first three lower the 5th (D) of a G7 chord a half step, to Db, to create a G7b5, an
intrinsic chord in big band swing and jazz music. The next three raise the 5th a half
step, to D#, resulting in a G7#5 (or G augmented 7th, written Gaug7 or G+7). This is a
popular altered V chord choice in the major and minor progressions of jazz and blues
music.

Our next trio of voicings lower the 9th (A) of a G9 chord a half step, to Ab, to create a
G7b9 chord, one of the most popular altered V chords in jazz. The final three raise the
9th a half step to form the mighty dom7#9 chord—the mother of all altered chords in
the rock world. In addition to being the most commonly used altered V chord, it often
functions as the i chord in minor keys (FIGURE 16).

FIGURE 16
 For you high-strung guitarists who thrive on tension, there is the second category of
altered dominant chords—those with two or more alterations. Again, using a basic G7
for the foundation, FIGURE 17 offers a variety of super-altered dominant chords.
These are the chords which, when played alone, can sound downright ornery, but when
put in the right place at the tight time, can generate smooth resolutions.

FIGURE 17

For example, the G7b5(b9) works particularly well resolving to a dominant chord such
as C9; the G7b5(#9) sounds great as a set-up chord for a Cm13; and both the G13#9 and
G13b9 function well in a V chord setting in the key of C major.

Finally, the G7#5(#9) and G7#5(b9) voicings fit neatly into the V chord slot of a C
minor progression. (FIGURE 18).

FIGURE 18
 [BREAK]

OTHER ALTERED CHORDS

Contrary to popular belief, altered chords are not exclusively dominant in quality, as the
major #11 voicings found in FIGURE 19 attest.

FIGURE 19

Native to jazz/fusion and progressive instrumental rock, these chords commonly

function as the IV chord in major keys and as the I chord in Lydian (1 2 3 #4 5 6 7)
progressions.

FIGURE 20 offers two examples of dominant #11 voicings.

FIGURE 20

These colorful chords can shine in secondary dominant situations—for example, when
the IV chord in a major key is dominant in quality instead of major (D9#11 in the key of
A major, FIGURE 21).

FIGURE 21
 The Amaj7#5 chords (bIII chord of F# harmonic and F# melodic minor) found
in FIGURE 22 offer yet another example of altered-major-type chords, while the
Am13b5 and the Am9b5 voicings represent the less widespread altered minor chord
variety.

FIGURE 22

[BREAK]

INVERSIONS
All of the chords we’ve discussed so far have been root-position chords (where the
lowest note is the root of the chord). But when any other chord tone is placed at the
bottom of a voicing, it becomes an inverted chord, or inversion. Although there are
other possibilities, the most common inversions are “3rd in the bass” (first inversion)
and “5th in the bass” (second inversion).

Not only is the use of inversions a good way to stay out of the bass player’s frequency
space—it’s also a handy method for including more extensions and alterations in your
chords and for gaining easier access to some of those merciless, joint-stretching
voicings.

The inverted chords in FIGURE 23 offer several examples of “easy-reach” extended

and altered voicings. Note that the root has been deleted in all of these chords except
for the last.
 FIGURE 23

FIGURE 24 is an inversion exercise guaranteed to turn you into an E dominant funk

monster. These are all E dominant chord types located exclusively on the top four
strings—perfect for an E9 chord vamp, a staple of the funk genre.

FIGURE 24

[BREAK]

OPEN-STRING VOICINGS
Like inversions, open-string voicings (chords involving one or more open strings) can
come in handy for creating extended voicings. In addition, they furnish a rich, ringing
timbre ideal for small-group and solo settings. Check out FIGURE 25 for some big,
“phat” examples.

FIGURE 25

Think of these as “gateway” chords and use them as guides for creating some open-
string voicings of your own.
 FIGURE 26 represents another approach to creating open-string voicings.

FIGURE 26

This one involves taking a common barre-chord shape and “opening up” the voicing to
allow selected strings to ring open. The chords in the top row are the open-string
voicings, of course, while the ones in the bottom row represent the basic barre-chord
voicings they are derived from. Apply this method to other barre-chord shape to see
what you can come up with.

Happy hunting.

The CAGED System: Unlocking Guitar Chord

Inversions
Ali Jamieson| 27/05/2014
The CAGED system is a method for quickly and logically learning all the potential chord inversions for
the guitar’s fretboard. Ordinarily the basic shapes are taught to you and for playing in bands or basic
accompaniment, this is fine. However when you want to push your playing and delve deeper into
harmony, the CAGED system is a perfect way to do so.

Any chord can be played in any of the 5 shapes that we learn in open position: C, A, G, E and D. This
is particular helpful if you’re playing solo guitar, outlining a melody or using extensions to colour the
harmony. If you have dabbled in blues or jazz you may have come across a ‘9th’ chord (i.e in D, x 5 4
5 5 x) which is, in fact, built on a ‘C-shape’ shifted up to the D note on the 5th fret.

The Shape of Jazz To Come

Looking at C, here are its 5 inversions according to the CAGED framework.

C shape A shape G shape E shape D shape

Minor chords are similar to major chords in that they share 2 of the 3 notes used to generate them, the
root and 5th (if you are unfamiliar with building chords, I’ve covered it here). The note that
differentiates them is the ‘3rd’: in the case of C major this is E, and C minor it is Eb.
Before we move on, here’s a table of the chord symbols I am going to be using:

Chord name Symbol Alternate names Common usage

Major 7 Δ maj7, M7 I, IV

Minor 7 – m7, minor 7 ii, iii, vi

Dominant 7 dom, x V, VI, III

Augmented + aug V

Diminished ° dim V, vii

Half Diminished ø m7b5, half dim vii

Shell Chords
These are a more musically ‘efficient’ way of playing chords. They tend to omit the 5th and sometimes
even the root. The 3rd and 7th contribute most to the understanding of the chord’s function and, in a
jazz ensemble situation, the root and 5th would be covered by a walking bass line.

Here are some examples of shell chords in C, starting with major, then dominant, minor and some
6add9 variations. All of these use the C-shape:

Some more advanced voicings are diminished, half-diminished (also known as minor 7 flat 5) and
altered:
Here are some more examples of voicings still in C but this time built around the E- shape:

Finally, let’s look at some of the A-shape shell voicings:

Using Shell Chords

The CAGED system makes it far easier to understand the fretboard. When playing solo guitar, this
means fewer jumps in the harmony, easier chord fingerings and a more cohesive sound. Let’s take a
look at a few jazz standards to see how this approach could help us harmonise the melody in each
example.